- AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman Posted on X After Recent Backlash Against AI
- The executive said there are “many cynics” who believe AI is “disappointing.”
- He added, “The fact that people aren’t impressed that we can have a fluid conversation with a super-intelligent AI… is mind-blowing to me.”
Microsoft has been roundly criticized for doubling down on AI following recent revelations about where Windows 11 is headed, and the answer is fighting fire with fire, at least for the company’s chief AI officer.
Windows Central noted that Mustafa Suleyman opted for X and stated that he is not impressed with AI haters.
Regarding the recent negative comments about the AI advancements planned for Windows 11, including AI agents in the operating system, Suleyman complained: “God, there are so many cynics! It makes me laugh when I hear people say that AI is disappointing. I grew up playing Snake on a Nokia phone! The fact that people are not impressed that we can have a fluid conversation with a super intelligent AI that can generate any image/video is mind-blowing to me.”
And that’s okay, I understand that feeling somehow. Yes, the advancement of AI, or large language model (LLM), since ChatGPT burst onto the scene, has been something to see. It’s undeniable that the speed of developments with AI on desktops and phones has been dizzying, and some pretty incredible things are happening.
Even regular non-technical people, or certainly my friends and family, are quickly realizing that ChatGPT (or Gemini, or Copilot, etc.) can be a much more powerful tool than Google for answering questions and meeting their needs. (Although Google has injected AI into its search results at the top now, of course, precisely for this reason.) Or even for creating a pretty spectacular image from scratch, as Suleyman mentions.
Those are all good things, though. You can just talk about the positive and sunny things and not about the gloomy darkness of the clouds that consists of all the worries and doubts around AI. And so, into the storm…
Analysis: Microsoft needs to build trust and confidence
Of course, there are general fears about AI: that we’re moving fast and breaking things, as the oft-cited concern goes. And that we are not doing enough to ensure safety and security barriers, while we are too focused on moving forward with what AI can do. (And when I say “we,” I actually mean those of us who make a ton of money from AI, related applications, and related hardware, of course.)
Those kinds of broader concerns apply to AI in Windows 11, of course, but there are more specific criticisms aimed at Microsoft’s new push to bring more AI to its desktop operating system.
I’ve talked about this quite a bit lately, so I won’t go over it completely again, but suffice it to say that it’s mostly about Microsoft’s focus on AI being “unimpressive” (harsher words have been used) in terms of pushing new features into Windows 11 when there’s enough about the operating system that still leaves a lot to be desired.
For example, the lack of basic functionality (moving the taskbar away from the bottom of the screen) and the constant appearance of strange errors and problems with Windows 11.
As I and many others have said, how can we trust Microsoft to get AI right and get agents to perform perhaps complex tasks, while maintaining our privacy and security, when even the basic elements of Windows 11’s interface fail regularly (slow search, File Explorer, context menu weirdness, etc.)?
This is the “disappointing” thing about Microsoft’s software development and QA processes, which will also apply to these AI agents with their tendrils spreading across Windows 11 and your files (where you have given permission for the agent to access, of course – I should make it very clear, but the AI is still accessing some content).
What’s also a big problem is that Copilot demos, especially recent marketing efforts, have been disappointing. The practical use of AI doesn’t match the theory, as we saw in a recent clip of Copilot trying to help a user change the text size in Windows 11, where he stumbles over several points and gets a couple of things completely wrong. It’s confusing how Microsoft’s marketing department allowed this clip to be posted, frankly, and tellingly, the video has already been removed.
While it’s understandable that those working on AI in Windows 11 are frustrated by the backlash out there, they should take these criticisms into account and not lash out like that, which, to be fair, another Microsoft executive has done.
Given the failed demos and overall disappointing nature of Copilot so far in Windows 11, with many of the early AI capabilities focused primarily on creative apps, which aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, is it any wonder that many people aren’t as excited? Or that some are downright hostile when they’re fed up with bugs, parts of Windows 11 malfunctioning in really strange ways, and the incessant promotion of Microsoft’s other services in the operating system? Or when you think about the Recall fight, don’t forget that gem of regrettable thinking and poor planning for an AI function that is deeply privacy-sensitive.
For some people, all of this has created a backdrop of lack of trust about whether Microsoft can do AI right, and that the ‘snake’ of these agents could somehow escape the confines of your security container due to an exploit and end up devouring all your files.
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